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LEAD: Olympics: Japan baseball team names 39 final Olympic candidates
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TOKYO, June 20 (18:49) Kyodo
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(EDS: ADDING ROSTER LIST)
The Beijing Olympic-bound Japanese baseball team on Friday named
Nippon Ham Fighters right-hander Yu Darvish, Yomiuri Giants
right-hander Koji Uehara and Yakult Swallows shortstop Shinya
Miyamoto among 39 final candidates for 24 roster spots.
Japan manager Senichi Hoshino kept Uehara, who has pitched in
major international events such as the Athens Olympics and the World
Baseball Classic, on the roster although he has been sent to
Yomiuri's farm team and is recovering from leg problems after a rocky
start to the season.
But Lotte Marines right-hander Hiroyuki Kobayashi, Rakuten
Eagles left-hander Kohei Hasebe and Chunichi Dragons infielder
Masahiko Morino were left out of the roster because of disappointing
showings this season as Hoshino and coaching staff reduced the team's
roster to 39 from 81.
The three players were on the team that won the Asian
Championship in Taiwan last December to earn an Olympic berth.
''We had a hard time picking 39 guys because so many players are
injured. I hope the members will compete with each other without
picking up injuries,'' Hoshino said.
The team is scheduled to announce the final 24-man roster in
mid-July.
Japan will face three-time gold medal winner Cuba in its opening
game of the Beijing Olympic tournament.
Japan is looking for its first Olympic gold medal since baseball
became an official medal sport in 1992. The country has won a silver
and two bronzes with one fourth-place finish.
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Japan's roster
Pitchers -- Koji Uehara (Yomiuri Giants), Kenshin Kawakami,
Hitoki Iwase, Kazuki Yoshimi (Chunichi Dragons), Minoru Iwata, Kyuji
Fujikawa, Tomoyuki Kubota (Hanshin Tigers), Yu Darvish (Nippon Ham
Fighters), Yoshihisa Naruse, Shunsuke Watanabe (Lotte Marines),
Tsuyoshi Wada, Yuki Kume, Toshiya Sugiuchi (Softbank Hawks), Masahiro
Tanaka, Hisashi Iwakuma (Rakuten Eagles), Hideaki Wakui (Seibu Lions)
Catchers -- Shinnosuke Abe (Yomiuri Giants), Akihiro Yano
(Hanshin Tigers), Ryoji Aikawa (Yokohama BayStars), Yoshiyuki
Ishihara (Hiroshima Carp), Tomoya Satozaki (Lotte Marines), Toru
Hosokawa (Seibu Lions)
Infielders -- Michihiro Ogasawara (Yomiuri Giants), Masahiro
Araki, Hirokazu Ibata (Chunichi Dragons), Takahiro Arai (Hanshin
Tigers), Shuichi Murata (Yokohama BayStars), Shinya Miyamoto (Yakult
Swallows), Tsuyoshi Nishioka (Lotte Marines), Munenori Kawasaki
(Softbank Hawks), Hiroyuki Nakajima, Yasuyuki Kataoka (Seibu Lions)
Outfielders -- Yoshinobu Takahashi (Yomiuri Giants), Kazuhiro
Wada (Chunichi Dragons), Norihiro Akahoshi (Hanshin Tigers),
Norichika Aoki (Yakult Swallows), Atsunori Inaba (Nippon Ham
Fighters), Saburo Omura (Lotte Marines), Takahiko G.G. Sato (Seibu
Lions)
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